NBC Orders ‘Lincoln’ Drama Pilot Based On ‘The Bone Collector’ Books

NBC has handed a pilot order toLincoln (fka The Bone Collector), a drama based on the bestselling book series by Jeffery Deaver which had been previously adapted into the 1999 movie of the same name starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. The project hails from writers VJ Boyd and Mark Bianculli (S.W.A.T.), Universal Television and Sony Pictures Television, whose sibling feature studios shared distribution of the film, in association with Keshet Studios, which has deals with NBC and Uni TV.

Written by Boyd and Bianculli, Lincoln follows legendary forensic criminologist Lincoln Rhyme, who was seriously injured during his hunt for the diabolic serial killer known as the Bone Collector. Called back into action when the killer re-emerges, Lincoln forms a unique partnership with Amelia Sachs, a young beat cop who helps him hunt the deadly mastermind while also taking on the most high-profile cases in the NYPD.

Photo by Snap Stills/REX/Shutterstock

In the 1999 movie, directed by Phillip Noyce, the roles of Lincoln and Amelia were played by Washington and Jolie, respectively. The film was based on Deaver’s 1997 novel The Bone Collector, which spawned an 11-book series. The series is expected to draw from the entire collection.

Lincoln is the sixth drama ordered to pilot by NBC this cycle, joining Council of Dads, from Tony Phelan and Joan Rater and Jerry Bruckheimer TV; Bluff City Law from Dean Georgaris and David Janollari; Prism from Daniel Barnz and Carol Mendelsohn; Emergence from Michele Fazekas, Tara Butters and ABC Studios; and Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist from Austin Winsberg, Paul Feig, The Tannenbaum Co., Lionsgate and Universal Music Group. In addition, NBC ordered straight-to-series drama Law & Order: Hate Crimes from Dick Wolf.

Boyd and Bianculli previously wrote two drama projects for Sony TV that went to pilot, The Jury and Doomsday. Their series credits include Sony TV’s Justified and S.W.A.T.